CPM Magazine ~ March 2017 Ben Burrows ‘Happier days for OSR’
by Lucy de la Pasture

What a difference a year makes. Growers who have kept the faith with oilseed rape look set to be rewarded for their loyalty to the oft-problematic break crop. It hasn’t been a case of sunshine and roses throughout the country but, on the whole, the national OSR crop looks to have potential.

Despite one of the mildest winters on record, wheat disease control plans are back on track as the T1 timing approaches.
That’s the general view from the field as T0 sprays are being applied, with the fire engine situation that may were predicting earlier in the year having failed to materialise.

“There’s plenty of septoria on the oldest leaves, but I’m yet to find rust. Mildew could be a big problem on small crops and could also establish quickly on lush growth if crops grow away quickly after a prolonged cold spell.

With winter wheat crops a real mixed bag, disease management will be tricky. Adam Clarke asks agronomists around the regions for their assessment of disease risk and advice on how to counter the threat in the current season…

“There’s plenty of septoria on the oldest leaves, but I’m yet to find rust. Mildew could be a big problem on small crops and could also establish quickly on lush growth if crops grow away quickly after a prolonged cold spell.